His response to my "thank you" tweet was brief: "Looking forward to pursuing wholeness together." Yet these words begged the question: how do we pursue-–look for–-wholeness? And how do we do it together?

I know that wholeness is a worthy goal, because Psalm 34:14 tells us to "seek peace and pursue it." The King James Version of Psalm 63:8 is more intense: "My soul followeth hard after thee." We are called to move actively towards God and towards Christ. Our faith is neither passive nor docile. . . . May we pursue wholeness together.Likewise, we are called to move towards each other. Our God loves community, relationships and fellowship. Jesus speaks countless times of His connection to God and His connection to us. We are the "branches" (John 15:5) to His vine. We are not disconnected. We are not alone. We have not been abandoned.

. . . May we pursue wholeness together.

What we ignore is that we must pursue wholeness in community. We live in a broken and lonely and isolating world. Too often, we fail to look past superficial smiles to the bleeding and wounded hearts occupying the pew next to us. We do not pursue the redemptive power of our community for ourselves or for others. Our desire for others’ healing and restoration is as superficial as the pasted smiles we wear on Sunday morning. We are not, in the words of the psalmist, "following hard" after God. We conceal ourselves from Him and from each other. We have replaced Adam and Eve’s fig leaves with our own emotional barriers, hiding our wounds from the God who could heal us. . . . May we pursue wholeness together.May we pursue wholeness together. Yes! May we, as one, be deliberate in our desire for, and our pursuit of, the healing, restoration and redemption available through the risen Christ. Yes!